The Asian Wealth Times reported several months ago that the Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund was about to land in Tokyo. Yesterday the fund announced the formal opening of its Japan office; the new office will focus exclusively on real estate.

As one of the world’s largest property markets, Tokyo offers not only new and dynamic investment opportunities but is also a source of talented real estate investment professionals from which the new firm can recruit.

“We’ve picked out Tokyo and Singapore as the two markets where we want to start our efforts in Asia,” says Karsten Kallevig, CIO Real Estate. “Tokyo is a market that fits well with the rest of our portfolio.” The strategy will be largely the same as for previous real estate investments. “We’ll be focusing on office buildings in selected central areas of the city,” says Kallevig.

The fund began investing in real estate in 2011 and has since built up a substantial portfolio of properties in Europe and the US. Asia has long been an important market for the fund’s equity and fixed-income investments and is a natural next market for its real estate investments.

The fund already has offices in Singapore and Shanghai, and the new office in Tokyo will further strengthen the fund’s operations in the region.

“Having a separate real estate office in Tokyo will give us that important local presence and help us build the best possible property portfolio in this market,” says Kallevig.

The Tokyo office will start with three local staff, all attached to the real estate department and advising on property investments.